This Sunday the Church is celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. “The Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in the Catholic Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In some places, it is transferred to the Sunday. The feast was instituted to honor the Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament… On the 11 August 1264, Pope Urban IV published the Bull “Transiturus de hoc mundo”, in which, after having extolled the love of Our Savior as expressed in the Holy Eucharist, he ordered the annual celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in the universal Church. The bull also granted many indulgences to the faithful for the attendance at Mass and at the Office. To celebrate the feast St Thomas Aquinas wrote the very beautiful liturgy celebrated on the Solemnity.”
The Origins of the Feast of Corpus Christi
In this celebration all Catholics celebrate the most beautiful gift that the Lord Jesus gave us; to be with us in the Eucharist. There should not be any doubt about the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. St. Paul reminds us why we celebrate the Eucharist. He wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ After supper in the same way, He took the cup saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26).
Jesus is present in the Eucharist. We really receive His body and blood; hence, we said to the Lord, thank you because He is with us. We are united with Him in the Communion. Let us remember that the Eucharist is everything. It is the center of our faith because we have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus in it. In the Eucharist we find the fullness of life, the eternal salvation, the mercy, grace, and happiness from God. The Eucharist is Jesus Christ present in our lives. Let us remember that Jesus is God; the second person of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, the Eucharist is God. The Eucharist is an encounter with God made man.
God bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. Jorge Ramirez
